Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies [Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD] [UltraViolet] [SteelBook] [2014]

There's a lot to like in Battle of 5 Armies, as it's probably the strongest entry in the Hobbit series... That said, it (and the others in The Hobbit series) just don't measure up to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Featuring plenty of battles, a return to a beautifully rendered world, and top-notch special effects, it's only real flaw is a disconnect with the characters that just didn't exist in LotR. Certainly, there's some characters here that you'll enjoy, but where LotR seemed to be flowing with tons of characters you quickly grew attached to, the same cannot be said for The Hobbit. One also has to be disappointed in the dwarf/ elf "forbidden love" that is so incredibly forced, the movie itself never seems to take it seriously. Even if the extended version somehow made it "better" the whole thing was laughable, at best. The 2 characters involved seem ready to leave their entire races to be together, yet there's never a moment between the two that makes it seem they ever fell in love. It was hard to swallow throughout the other films, and 5 Armies never fixes this. I cringed every time the 2 actors shared scenes, not because they were bad actors or didn't make me believe they had feelings for one another, but I could just never buy into the fact that these were living characters that fell in love and not just actors playing the role because it was written that way. Now, I wish I could give more info on the differences between the standard edition and this extended edition (Bot5A earned an R-rating in its extended format, a first in either series, but I don't recall any scenes in Bot5A that stood out as any more excessive than any other of the films) but, I learned a long time ago, beginning with King Kong and the Fellowship of the Ring, that Peter Jackson consistently offers better movies in his extended versions- at times, cutting scenes that I felt were excellent (but didn't really add to the story, per se) and added wonderful fan service to the viewers, all in the name of saving time. Taken as a whole, they may be added scenes of fights that don't forward the plot, but they most definitely add action to the, well, action-centric films. I've given it a 4* rating, only because it deserves a rounding up from what I think is a 3 1/2* film. If you're a fan of Middle-Earth, there's absolutely no reason not to add this to your collection, especially in its complete version. While I may never enjoy the Hobbit movies as much as the Lord of the Ring films, I'm glad these were made, and glad they're a part of my collection. As a fantasy/ sci-fi/ horror buff, these will be some of the first "grown up" films I introduce my kid to as he gets older. They're safe, overall, and very "cool". Comparatively, where the second trilogy of Star Wars fell almost completely flat, the Hobbit avoids that same measure of failure.

Some will argue these already bloated movies don't need more filler, but I always enjoy the added scenes. This "prequel trilogy" is definitely not as good as 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, but there is definitely fun to be had here. There's an extended chariot scene on a frozen river with the wargs and the mountain goats that gets kind of gory, with the wargs getting splattered by the chariots, but I still think for it to get an R rating there could of been more blood, at least the big battle with Thorin and Azog could've been a bit more visceral. The picture quality, 3d quality, and sound quality is on par with the theatrical bluray, which are all excellent. There's hours of bonus features, which I myself have not gone through. The biggest problem with this set his the very high asking price of 45 dollars. That's a lot of coin for a movie release, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend that people run out and buy it. I bought mine on the first week when it was on sale for about 35 dollars, which was a little steep, but so far, that's the cheapest I've seen it. If the rating would allow it. I would give it 3.5 stars I will mark it as a recommend, but at a better price point.

I did not prepare for this movie by re-watching the prior 2 films... MISTAKE - I really think you need that context fresh in your mind to enjoy this; it is, after all, the climax. I did not like the first third of this film because the others simply weren't fresh in my mind. Once the battle starts I couldn't help but get into the film. My criticism was too much CGI...WAYYYYYYY to much CGI... the orcs that were actors made up looked and moved 100X better than the mo-cap guys. There were some scenes that I couldn't abide such as a battle scene with Sauruman, Galadrial, Gandalf and Elrond fighting the ring wraiths and Sauron X Men style - which must have been made up... I can't conceive of this scene ever having been in any appendix materials connected to anything Tolkein ever wrote... over all I enjoyed the film despite myself. I am hoping that a second viewing in context fixes my problem with act one and/or that the Extended Cut is an uptick from this... that being said the only extended edition that was not an improvement over the theatrical cut IMO was Desolation Of Smaug.... I will also say that I am starting to question if Peter Jackson has anything left in the tank... Hobbit is OK overall but not even close to LOTR... AND his style is getting to be dated. We shall see.....

Overall I thought the movie was great but I'm not going to say much about the movie plot since you can find that info anywhere else. Instead I'll talk about the 3D experience, which was about the same as I expected it to be. If you have seen the other two Hobbit movies its pretty much the same in terms of 3D/video/sound quality. I found that while the Hobbit movies had great 3D the movies were just too long and the glasses and minor ghosting (which is in most movies) started to get a little annoying. It wasn't enough that it would distract you from the movie, because it's pretty engaging, but just keep in mind that it will probably happen to you. I think I still like The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug better, only because of the plot, but this a great ending to the six film franchise. Note: If you are a huge Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fan make sure to stick around for the credits to hear a song by Pippin/Billy Boyd. It's a great song and the music video on Youtube is an awesome look back at the cast from all of the movies. PS: I really hate that these movies do not come with a iTunes digital copy but such is life.

Peter Jackson has done us an excellent service by bringing Professor Tolkien's Middle Earth to life. The writing loses none of Mr. Tolkien's tone, the photography varies from very good to breathtaking, the characters and monsters look about as a reader visualized them (mostly, anyway), and the cg characters are faithful to their descriptions. The actors all give performances at a very high level indeed. One forgets that they're actors and sees the characters themselves. A viewer goes from saying "well acted" about the actor to saying "well done" about the character. Where Mr. Jackson trumps the Ring cycle is the Hobbit. In taking a small (but fine) young reader's book and adding extra-textual material from the appendices he turns it into a Ring-sized epic while giving us background happenings that illuminate many historical references in both books. Throughout all this, he maintains the same high standard from beginning to end. This is a series that's truly faithful to the original source. Professor Tolkien would surely have given it an A. Well done, indeed!

Many complained about the liberties Peter Jackson took with the telling of this story. I view the films and the book as separate entities. The Films, as made, were well crafted, beautifully filmed, and reverent if not entirely representative of the original Hobbit story. This disc faithfully reproduces the theatrical experience of Peter Jackson's film. The extras are well presented and thoughtful. Loved the book. Loved the Jackson Trilogy too, for shared and different reasons. Divorce yourself from the need for the film to "be" the book, and you have a fun, well shot and well written series of fantasy movies that should entertain and expand on your experience of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, but with a new perspective. No reason folks can;t enjoy and love both the film AND the book... This doesn't need to be an "either/or" situation! Final review? Great image quality. Nice extras. I always love seeing the extended scenes and think they add to the viewing experience.

The Hobbit Trilogy has been a mixed bag. Mostly overstuffed, overly stylized, but with some fun scenes. Peter Jackson is barely able to keep his needlessly sprawling story together. It would literally take less time to read The Hobbit than to watch these three films. This final film is nothing more than a protracted battle sequence to wrap the three films up. It's thrilling at times, but it's mostly tedious. Bilbo as a character takes a backseat to all the action in the film and that's kind of a shame seeing how this series was supposed to be about his journey. Somewhere along the line, PJ forgot That The Hobbit in question was Bilbo and that these movies were supposed to be his story. He was clearly more interested in making a Lord of the Rings prequel than an adaptation of The Hobbit. All that said, none of these movies are without their moments and can be enjoyed for what they are.

Consumers and fans of LOTR may divide themselves from Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy as the series, containing fun characters, epic-scaled visuals and a interesting take on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic children's book does suffer from bloated lengths, focus on side stories and appendices and over-reliance on computer generated effects. However, if you respect The Hobbit trilogy as entertaining films, the last film, "Battle of the Five Armies" is "your precious" to collect. From the opening scene of Smaug's attack on Laketown to the titular final battle, leading up to "Fellowship of the Ring", the film is presented in 2:43 Screen Ration with brilliant picture quality (Though you will be warned that it will reveal obviousness in the CGI-heavy scenes), a stellar soundtrack mix combining Howard Shore's score with mix of battle sequences. The extra supplement will leave a lot for consumers to desire, but a DVD and UV copy is included with purchase.